Automatic rail joint fastening



July 7, 1936. BETKE 2,046,542

AUTOMATIC RAIL JOINT FASTENING Fil ed Aug. 14, 1934 lm/enfozamichaelBeiiia &

Patented July 7, 1936 HE!) STATES ATENT Application August 14 6 Claims.

This invention relates to railjoints, and more particularly to that type of rail joint arranged and equipped for automatic tightening of the joint bolts through the agency of devices adapt- 5. ed to be acted upon by wheels passing over said joint, and has as an object the provision of improved means automatically operable to maintain a joint bolt and its nut in tightly clamping relation with the joint elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic joint bolt tightening device which is simple and inexpensive of manufacture and installation and positive and efiicient in operation.

Practice has demonstrated that the bolts of rail joints, however well tightened and locked originally, will eventually loosen under the efiects of vibration and temperature change constantly acting on such joints, which loosening may not result 2 from turning of the nut relative to the bolt but from stretching of the bolt, improved contact between meeting surfaces, or other causes. Loose bolts in rail joints are highly objectionable and, if uncorrected, may lead to disaster, hence the necessity for frequent joint inspection and manual tightening of the loose bolts thus found, which is the common, though expensive, practice. Loose joint bolts are also destructive of rails and roadbed, since a loose joint permits ,30 disalignment of abutting rail ends and vertical motion therebetween under trafiic thereover with consequent battering and deformation of the rail butts and pounding of the roadbed, both of which conditions may be obviated through the use of the devices comprised in this invention, whereby the joint bolts are automatically kept tight to insure a rigid joint wherein there is no play.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of portions of abutting rails forming a joint to which my invention has been applied, dotted lines in said figure indicating an alternative position of one of the bolt tightening units. Figure 2 is a cross section on the indicated line 2-2 of Figure 1 and on an enlarged scale relative thereto. Figure 3 is' a fragmentary, detail section on the indicated line 3--3 of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a fragmentary, detail section on the indicated line 4-4 of Figure 2. Figure5 is a view similar to Figure 3 show- 1934, Serial No. 739,740

ing the elements of said latter figure in an alternative position.

In the construction of my improvement as shown, the numeral l0 designates either portion of abutting railway rails, forming a joint. Fishplates ll, l2 are mounted on opposite sides of the rails Ii] in overlapping relation with the joint and secured in splicing relation with said rails by means of bolts I3 engaging through registering holes in the fishplates l I, i2 and webs of the rails I0, nuts l4 engaging the threaded portions of said bolts being operable to firmly clamp the joint assembly together and prevent relative motion between the elements thereof, all of which is common and well-known practice. The fishplates II and I2 may have any suitable form, that shown being typical of a standard form in general use, but for the purpose of my invention it is desirable that the fishplate positioned against the inner or flange side of the rails, in this instance the fishplate I2, be arranged with a plane, substantially vertical face l2 coplanar with the adjacent margin of the head formed on the rails I0 and a plane, substantially horizontal surface I 2" formed on its base and extending laterally from the surface l2. There may be any desired number of bolts I3 to each joint, four being commonly employed as illustrated in this instance, which bolts may be arranged in any suitable manner to prevent their rotation in and relative to the joint during tightening of the nuts l4, and must be mounted for purposes of this invention with their threaded ends extending through the fishplate IE on the inner or flange side of the rails l0.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, a box-like unit l5, suitably formed of metal, is provided for each of the bolts l3, each of the units l5 comprising a substantially plate-like wall l6 adapted to lie against the surface l2 of the fishplate l2, a top or cover plate I! fixed to or integral with the upper margin of the wall l6 and extending at substantially right angles therewith outwardly from the fishplate 12, a front wall l8 depending in spaced parallelism with the wall I 6 from the outer margin of the plate I! and an end wall l9 positioned inwardly from one end of the wall "5 and joining with said latter wall and corresponding margins of the elements l1 and I8 to close one end of the assembly. The units [5 are so proportioned as to permit of their being mounted on a fishplate l2 in the manner shown for independent operation as hereinafter described, lower margins of the elements l6, l8 and is normally resting on the surface I2 of the fishplate l2 to position the plates I! in spaced parallelism with said surface and in clearing relation with and just beneath the path of travel of wheel flanges passing along the rails Hi. The units l5 being identical in construction and operation, only one of said units will be further described. Each unit i5 is secured to the fishplate I2 and mounted thereon for actuation through a vertical are relative thereto by means of a rivet or headed stud 20 engaging through and interconnecting the vertical web of said fishplate and an upper corner of that portion of the unit wall l6 projecting beyond the closed end of the unit assembly, said pivot element 29 being so located relative to the fishplate l2 as to position the open end of its unit l5 in somewhat overlapping relation with an adjacent nut M, as is clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 5;" The nut I4 is formed with a ratchet wheel base portion It adapted to bear against a relatively thick washer 2| loosely mounted on the bolt 3 between the fishplate I2 and nut M and firmly clamp the elements W, H, i2 and 2| together. An arcuate slot 22, concentric with the pivot 20, is formed in the projecting end portion of the wall l6 and is arranged for end engagement with a pin or stud 23 fixed in the fishplate I2 to limit arcuate travel of the unit l5 about its pivot. Just within the open end of the unit iii, a detent 24 is pivotally mounted on and depends from a pin 25 engaging transversely of said unit between the walls I6 and I8 thereof, said detent being thus positioned tangentially of the orbit of theratchet wheel l4 so that teeth 24' formedon one margin of said detent may engage and mesh with the teeth of said ratchet wheel. While one tooth 24 is sufficient to operate the device successfully, the three such teeth illustrated are desirable for strength and efficient operation. Housed withinthe unit l5 intermediate the detent 24 and end wall I9, an expansive coil spring 26 is positioned with its pressure acting between the plate H of the unit and the base of the fishplate l2, the said spring thus acting to urge the open end of the unit upwardly into the position shown in Figure 5 and indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1. A plate-like clip 27 is interposed between the plate I! and upper end of the spring 26 to directly receive the thrust of said spring, said clip being provided with a boss or stud 2'! arranged to be received within the upper end of said spring to position the latter and being extended toward the open end of the unit l5 to terminate in a finger positioned beneath the pin 25 and bearing against a cam28 formed on the mounting hub of the detent 24 in such manner as to utilize the pressure of the spring 26 to yieldingly urge said detent .into meshing relation of its teeth with the teeth of the ratchet wheel at all times. In similar manner, a V-shaped pawl is formed with a longer arm 29 and a shorter arm 30 angularly' interrelated, the shorter arm 30 being received between the lower end of the spring 26 and the base of the fishplate l2 andthe longer arm 29 extending into ratcheting engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel I4, thus positioning the angle between said arms against the base of the fishplate i2 where it acts as a fulcrum through which the pressure of the spring 26 may act to urge the end of the longer arm 29 into close engagement with the ratchet teeth of the nut, the pawl thus operating to prevent unscrewing of said nut and yielding to permit tightening thereof. To position the veshaped pawland thelower end of the spring 26, pins. or studs 3| ship with the unit wall l6, which'latter is provided with a V-shaped notch opening toward the washer 2| wherein said arm 2 is accommodated. The extremity of the arm 2| is rounded, as shown, and is closely received in a suitable notch formed at the apex of the V-notch, so that, when the nut M is firmly clamped against the washer 2|, the arm 2| is held against actuation and in turn, through its engagement with the wall is,

inhibits actuation of the unit l5 about its pivot 2|), any loosening of the nut l4 permitting actuation of said arm 2 I and consequent extension of the spring 26 to elevation of the unit l5, the leverage resulting from the arrangement shown and described being such as to permit a relatively light spring to elevate the unit I5 when the nut M is but slightly loosened. To facilitate manual adjustment of the nut M, a portion of the wall I8 is out out, substantially as shown, so that when the unit i5 is in its raised position a suitable wrench may readily be applied to said nut. Since the detent Z4 and pawl arm 29 must be moved out of engagement with the ratchet wheel l4 against the pressure of the spring 26 when the nut i4 is to be'turned in unscrewing relation with the bolt l3, a hole or recess 32 is formed in thefishplate 12 between and adjacent said elements 24 and 29 wherein may be seated the end of a key or lever (not shown) operable to move the said elements out of engagement with the teeth'of the ratchet wheel l4, when desired.

In the practical operation of my improvement, the elements being assembled and arranged .as shown and described, it is readily apparent that when the bolt I3 a-ndlts nut I4 are'in tightly clamping relation with'the elements of the rail joint the pressure of said nut against the washer 2| will, through the arm 2|, hold the unit l5 against any arcuate motion about its pivot, engagement of the pawl arm 29 with the ratchet wheel I4 locking said'nut against loosening rotation. Should the bolt or nut become loosened in any manner sumcient to permit slight rotation of the washer 2|, the pressure of the spring 26 will move the unit l5 through a vertical arc to the position shown in Figure 5, the detent 24 ratcheting against the pressure of said spring past the teeth of the ratchet wheel to its new position, the corner of the unit l5 being thus positioned adjacent the tread of the rail H) in the path of travel of wheel flanges passing along said rail, the first of which flanges will engage said unit and move it downwardly, during which motion the teeth 24 of the detent will engage the ratchet wheel teeth and rotate the nut M in a tightening direction, this action being repeated by successive wheel flanges until the nut M is sufiiciently tightened on its bolt l3 to clamp the washer 2 l against" rotation and thereby hold the unit l5 against the pressure of its spring 26, the arm 29 of the pawl ratcheting past the teeth of the ratchet wheel as the nut I l is rotated andat all times preventing unscrewing of said nut. Due to the fact that the points on a wheel flange have a greater peripheral speed than points on the wheel tread, that portion of the flange engaging the unit l5 has a slight rearward travel relative to the wheel tread, which fact assures a. downward wiping action between the flange and unit I5, irrespective of the direction of travel of the wheel, and minimizes impact efiect on said unit. When a bolt I3 is broken or damaged so as to be no longer efiective, the unit l5 will remain in elevated position after wheels have passed thereover and thus indicate the necessity of repair to the next track worker or inspector to pass that way. It is to be noted that but a single spring is employed to actuate the three operating elements, which spring is housed and protected for a long life of efiicient operation. When the bolts of rail joints are thus automatically kept tight, low and battered joints cease to be a menace and the expense of track maintenance is notably reduced.

Since many changes in the specific construction, proportions and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of the invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention 1. An automatic rail joint fastening comprising abutting railsections, fishplates overlapping the joints thereof, bolts extending through said rails and fishplates, ratcheted nuts on said bolts, an operating device pivoted at one end for actuation of its free end through a limited vertical arc adjacent each of said nuts and arranged to tighten its respective nut during downward travel of the free end of said device, resiliently yieldable means normally urging the free end of said operating device toward the upper limit of its range of travel, and an additional separate member engaging said operating device and clampable by said nut to hold said device at the lower limit of its range of travel.

2. An automatic rail joint fastening comprising abutting rail sections, fishplates overlapping the joints thereof, bolts extending through said rails and fishplates, ratcheted nuts on said bolts, an operating device pivoted at one end for actuation of its free end through a limited vertical arc adjacent each of said nuts, a detent carried by the free end of said operating device for rotatively effective cooperation with the adjacent nut during downward travel of said device, resiliently yieldable means normally urging the free end of said device toward the upper limit of its range of travel, and an additional separate member controlled by the pressure of said nut and engaging said operating device to hold the latter at the lower limit of its range of travel.

3. In an automatic rail joint fastening, the combination of ratcheted nut members, operating devices independently pivoted at their ends adjacent each of said nut members for actuation of their free ends through limited vertical arcs,

means carried by the free end of each of said devices adapted to engage and rotate the corresponding nut member, means normally urging the free end of each operating device toward the upper limit of its range of travel, and additional separate members engaging corresponding operating devices and controlled by pressure of their respective said nut members to hold said operating devices at the lower limit of their range of travel.

4. In a device of the character described, a rail joint including clamping bolts fitted with ratcheted nut members, operating devices independently pivoted adjacent their ends for actuation of their free ends through limited vertical arcs adjacent each of said nut members, ratchet detent means carried adjacent the free ends of each of said operating devices and yieldingly held in operative relation with the corresponding nut member, ratchet pawl means yieldingly engaging each nut member to prevent reverse rotation thereof, and a single expansive coil spring element in each operating device normally urging the latter toward the upper limit of its range of travel and simultaneously yieldingly positioning said detent and pawl.

5. In a. device of the character described, a rail joint including clamping bolts fitted with ratcheted nut members, a washer clampable under each of said nut members, an arm projecting radially from each of said washers, operating devices independently pivoted for actuation through limited vertical arcs adjacent each of said nut members and each arranged to engage and tighten its respective nut member during its downward travel, resiliently yieldable means normally urging each said operating device toward the upper limit of its range of travel, a notch in each said operating device operatively engaged by the corresponding washer arm, whereby said device may be held adjacent the lower limit of its range of travel and an additional separate member engaging each operating device and clampable by the corresponding nut to hold said device against movement.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rail joint having clamping bolts fitted with ratcheted nut members on the wheel flange side of said joint, of operating devices hinged adjacent their ends to said joint for independent arcuate travel of their free ends into and out of the path of wheel flanges, yieldable detent means carried by said devices operable to engage and rotate said nut members, yieldable pawl means arranged to prevent reverse rotation of said nut members, and a single expansive coil spring element arranged to urge each operating device toward the upper limit of its range of travel and simultaneously yieldingly position the detent and pawl elements thereof; together with an additional separate member engaging each said operating device and clampable under its respective nut to hold said device at the lower limit of its range of travel.

IVHCHAEL BETKE. 

